


A little and a lot

by TimesOnlyReason



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Christopher Pike Lives, Domestic Fluff, I'm the author and I could kill your fave character, M/M, Some angst, Vulcan is destroyed, a mix of TOS and AOS, be nice, my first star trek fic, no beta we die like men, raising a kid, space dads
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:28:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25830577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimesOnlyReason/pseuds/TimesOnlyReason
Summary: Star Date 2267.08, Captains log.We have received a distress call from what seems to be a small ship, capable of carrying no more than 5 people in the Doraxian system. We should be arriving in approximately five minutes. There is no telling what we will find when we get there.~~~~~~~The Enterprise answers a distress call and finds a small child, half Vulcan and half Hedraxian, alone.Over the course of 10 days the Enterprise travels to the nearest star base, whilst Jim and Spock fall in love with Octalia.And maybe, just maybe, they find each other on the way.
Relationships: James T. Kirk/Spock
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	1. Day one

Star Date 2267.08, Captains log.  
We have received a distress call from what seems to be a small ship, capable of carrying no more than 5 people in the Doraxian system. We should be arriving in approximately five minutes. There is no telling what we will find when we get there.

The distress call had been just that, distressing. It was the sound of struggling, a large bang, and slow heavy breathing before nothing. Several moments of nothing, before a timid voice. Uhura translated it for the rest of the bridge as the words spoken were in Pentalion, a language spoken on Hedraxor, a planet not far from where the signal was coming from. _‘My name is Octalia, I’m nine years old, and my mum and dad won’t wake up. Please. Someone help me wake them up.’_

No one spoke once the transmission finished. Kirk turned and nodded to Sulu who set the Enterprise on a course for the origins of the signal.

As they arrived they saw not one but two ships. Kirk, Spock, and Dr McCoy were beamed across to the ship that sent the transmission whilst three members of the security team were beamed to the second ship.  
McCoy walked straight to what he assumed were the parents who were lying on the ground. He held his tricorder over them for a few moments before shaking his head at the Captain. Spock walked over to the two other bodies, Caldorns by the look of it.

“There has been a problem in this system of beings beaming aboard passing ships and looting them of any valuables. The federation has been trying to put measures in place to reduce it,” Spock said glancing around the ship.

“Clearly hasn’t worked,” McCoy responded, his tricorder confirming the caldorns were also dead.

“It appears that’s what has happened here, looks like they gave quite a fight,” Kirk frowned, eyes flitting around, before landing on a small space under the pilot desk.

“Hey sweetie. Its okay, you’re safe,” Kirk cooed reaching his hand out to the darkness below the desk.  
Slowly, and cautiously a small figure crawled out from the shadows. Pale skin, deep rich eyes, pitch black hair, pointed ears. Distinctly Vulcan in appearance except for the pinkish hue of her skin.  
With widened eyes and one perfectly raised eyebrow Spock asked “Nam-tor du Vuhlkansu?”  
_‘Are you Vulcan?’_

“Ha, heh Hedrashiankeh.” _‘Yes, and Hedraxian’_

“Set'ki. T'nash-veh ahm nam-tor s'chn t'gai spock, nash-veh mokuhlek du dungi nam-tor k'nash sasu”.

_‘Interesting. My Name is S'chn T'gai Spock, I can ensure you will be safe with this man.’_

And with that the child stood, walked over to Jim, raised the Vulcan salute and said in a crude federation standard accent “I have the name Octalia.”

Jim returned the salute with one of his trademarked smiles “Hi Octalia, I have the name Jim, would it be okay if we escorted you to our ship?”

Clearly unsure of what Jim had said, Octalia looked to Spock who translated the offer, word for word, into Vulcan. After a small nod of her head, Jim radioed the Enterprise for all of them to return to the ship.

Once back on board, the deceased beings from the other ships were taken down to the lower decks to be stored until proper arrangements could be made.

“Who this little tike with ya?” Asked scottie from the transportation desk, smiling down at said little tike.

“This is Octalia, and she is coming with me to med bay to be checked over,” McCoy spoke into a universal translator he grabbed from one of the ensigns around them. He held out his arm for Octalia to take and guided her away. Spock and Kirk returned to the bridge to update the others.

“The nearest Star base with a permanent Child Services is a ten day trip Captain,” Sulu said, “Shall I plot a course?”

“Yes Sulu, Thank you. Uhura any luck tracing the family?”

“No Captain, I’m sorry, so far it looks like Octalia lost the rest of her family on Vulcan, and I’m having trouble finding any Hedraxian relatives. I’ll contact the Child services on the star base Novamurbem and hopefully they will have better luck.” Uhura replied glumly.

“Thank you for trying Nyota. Kirk to Support systems”

“Yes Captain?” A light voice responded.

“Please ensure a child friendly room is prepared with Vulcan and Hedraxian needs in mind on D Deck.”

“Yes Sir. Support out.” The voice crackled away.

“Captain if I may? It would be most logical if I was one of the first contacts in regards to Octalia considering our share genetics,” Spock appeared at Kirks side, head tilted, the only outward display of his concern for the child.

“Of course Mr Spock, though I also would like to be involved in the care for Octalia whilst she is here,” Kirk replied looking up at Spock with a reassuring smile

“As expected, Captain, that is most agreeable”

The day, artificial as it may be, was winding to an end. The beta shift came to relieve the alpha shift of their duties, all important information was passed over and the bridge crew made their way to their evening activities. Uhura, Chapel and Chekov made their way to the mess hall; Sulu made his way to his quarters to contact his family and wish his daughter good night.

But Spock and Jim were restless. Without needing to say it aloud they both made their way to the med bay to check on Octalia and relieve Dr McCoy.

“How is she Bones?” Jim said smiling and nodding towards Octalia who was sitting, straight backed, on of the beds in the med bay seemingly lost in thought. Though what a nine year old could be contemplating after the day she had just experienced Jim refused to think of.

“She’s been sitting there like that for the past hour. Physically, she has little more than a bruise on her knee and a scrape on her wrist, likely from hiding under the control panel. But emotionally I can’t imagine. I haven’t been able to get her to talk to me,” Bones said sighing, Jim wondered what dealing with this must be doing for him emotionally and mentally promised to spend some time with him once this was over to relax.

Jim and Spock walked over to Octalia who had one leg slightly swaying off the edge of the bed, a small reminder of her age.

“Etek ma wuh tvi-shal tor abru na' du tor svi' na' wuh thurai lehkuh gad etek haolvaya tor wuh yel nen”

_‘We have had a room made up for you to stay in for the next ten days whilst we travel to the nearest star base.’_

Octalia didn’t react to Spock’s words until Jim offered her his arm to help her off the bed. She looked up at him, he could see her eyes were slightly damp but that she had not yet cried.

The men escorted her to the room, which was opposite their rooms. When they entered they saw the room decorated with earthy tones, cushions on almost every surface, a place for meditation and a small collection of things to occupy time. On the bed was a single stuffed toy, shaped like a tribble but an unnatural bright purple colour.

Jim grabbed a glass of water and placed in on the table beside the bed whilst Spock replicated a small amount of what appeared to be a Vulcan version of a fruit cracker and placed them beside the glass.

“We can stay with you if you want us to, for as long as you want us to or we can leave you alone for the night?” Kirk inquired, lowering himself to Octalia’s eye level, speaking through the translator he had clipped to his shirt before leaving the bridge.

“Nash-veh ri tor bolaya tor nam-tor glantau”  
_‘I do not require supervision’_ the translator clipped out.

“Okay, well my room is directly opposite yours and Spock’s in the room next to mine, should you need us over night. We will check on you in the morning, Good night Octalia,” Kirk stood from his crouched position, gave Octalia one last smile before he and Spock exited her room.

“Today has been strenuous, perhaps it would be best for us to retire to our quarters for the night, there is much to do in the morning,” Spock advised his Captain.

“You’re right Spock, I’m shattered. Goodnight”

"Good night Captain”

Both men retreated to their respective rooms and began preparing for the evening. Spock changed in to his robes and began meditating, processing all that had happened that day. Jim changed out of his uniform into some loose pyjama bottoms and an old t-shirt from the academy, the basketball team logo faded beyond recognition.

He replicated himself something to eat and sat at his desk to begin the paperwork from the day but his eyes kept drifting to the door. He imagined he could see through the door and the wall opposite. He couldn’t stop thinking about Octalia.

How small she had seemed crawling out of the shadows. How small she sounded over the distress message. How small she looked walking between himself and Spock down the corridors of the ship.

He imagined that she was curled up on the bed holding the stuffed toy. He hoped that she would let herself cry now she was alone. But mostly he wished for her to sleep well, as she would need all her strength to get out of bed tomorrow and face the world after the unimaginable she had lived though today.

Jim gave up on finishing the paperwork when it became clear that it would take all night, he hadn’t even finished the first page he had been staring at for what felt like hours. He left everything on his desk, stumbled over to his bed rubbing his burning eyes, and crawled under the covers. He too would need his strength for tomorrow.


	2. Day Two

In the morning Jim made his way to Octalia’s room. When he opened the door he found Spock already there sitting in one of the chairs at the small table in the room with a bowl of something Jim didn’t know the name of in front of the chair opposite him.

“Captain,” Spock nodded at Jim, the food from last night was untouched on the night stand.

“Octalia, How are you feeling?” Jim asked crouching down next to Octalia, who was laying on her side, curled in on her self.

Jim waited for the translator to repeat the words in Vulcan. He waited a moment more. And another moment. Before it became clear to him she wasn’t going to respond.

He stood and replaced the glass on the nightstand with fresh water. He replicated some food that wouldn’t go bad if it sat there for a while and placed both back on the bedside table.

“Myself and Mr Spock are needed on the bridge today, but we will come and check on you at lunch and again after we have finished work. If you need us or want to talk to us when we are not here just press this button,” Jim said pointing to the communicator panel on the wall, “and say Ocatlia to bridge, you can even say it in Vulcan if you need. Please try and eat and drink something, even if you don’t feel like it.” Jim looked to Spock who gave a small nod whilst the words were being translated.

Octalia’s hair had taken on a blueish sheen overnight, her skin more pale, almost a grey, her deep brown eyes were desaturated, dulled, as if the life was draining out of her.

This would have caused Jim much alarm but he hadn’t read a report on Hedraxians and their customs that morning that Spock had sent him. The document had stated that Hedraxians were humanoid in appearance but had the ability to change that appearance, much like chameleons on earth. Nothing major just the colouring of their skin, eyes, and hair.

And whilst this is often done at will by older Hedraxians, children, and some adults, have little control over it and the changes are often linked to emotional out bursts or surroundings.

It is thought this was originally a survival measure, children unable to tell a parent they are upset via words could do so with their appearance, and once they gain control of it the ability could be used to the individuals advantage.

That being said the sight of a child looking as Octalia did made Jim’s heart ache. If not for working closely with a Vulcan for the past few years he would have scooped her up in his arms and held her tight. Jim understood that such actions would most likely not be taken well but it still took every effort not to do it anyway just to be sure she knew she was safe.

Spock cleaned away the bowl of breakfast that had gone uneaten and the two made their way to the bridge to relieve the beta shift.

Jim felt the overwhelming need to call his mum and apologise for all the worry he cad caused her over the years, it was only his second day looking after a kid and he could feel his hair turning grey. Every new thought was followed by and image of Octalia sitting in her room, not eating, staring at the wall. It was starting to impede his work. It took Sulu three attempts to get his attention. Spock also found himself affected, he calculated he was functioning 12.7% less affectively.

At lunch they checked in on Octalia, Jim nearly teared up when he noticed the glass is only half full and a tiny, almost nonexistent bite was missing from the food. Although apart from that, it didn’t look like she had moved since they left in the morning.

Jim was called back to the bridge before their lunch hour was over, leaving just Spock with Octalia.

“T'nash-veh ko-mekh tev-tor rehkuh tevun ago fi' Vuhlkansu.Nash-veh mokuhlek ken-tor ish-veh kusut.U' du fai-tor etek Vuhlkansu mokuhlek ri ti, ni nash-veh skil-tor't tar wuh pak prah fan ten”

_‘My mother died three years ago on Vulcan. I can understand your pain. As you know we Vulcans can not lie, so I won't say the loss gets any easier.’_

At this Octalia looked to Spock’s eyes and a tiny crease appeared in between her eyebrows.

“Hi du shetau weht rom na' hasu k' ish-veh”

‘ _But you become more adept at living with the loss’_

When Spock returned to the bridge he spotted Jim in the Captains chair chewing on his thumbnail. Lost in thought yet again.

As the Call loaded Kirk felt nervous, he couldn’t understand why, as captain of the ship he could change the course as he pleased. But still something in him was worried that Pike wouldn’t approve.

“Captain Kirk, what a pleasant surprise,” Pike said, not looking up from the pad in his hands.

“Its good to see you, Admiral Pike. How are things back at star fleet?”

“Much calmer since you’ve left,” He teased looking up to smirk at Jim, “I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess this wasn’t a friendly call?”

“No sir, unfortunately the enterprise has had to change her course and head to the star base Novamurbem.”

“How so?”

“We intercepted a distress call, the details of such are in my report which you should have received. But in short, the only survivor was a child, half Vulcan and half Hedraxian. We are transporting her to Novamurbem to hand her to child services.”

“Oh my god, that poor kid, how are they holding up?”

“Not great. She’s barely eaten and hasn’t said a word,” Jim paused before asking, “Have any tips?”

“Just give her time, Jim. How is Spock handling this? What with them both being half Vulcan?”

“I’m not sure, he has been awfully quiet on the topic, but if I had to guess id think he was just as worried about her as I was.”

“Okay, keep me updated. Pike out”

The image of Pike faded from the screen leaving Jim alone in the room.

On their way to Octalia’s room, Jim and Spock swung by the mess hall to grab her some non-replicated food in a desperate attempt to encourage her to eat. Once they arrived at her room they found her still on her bed, but facing the opposite direction she had been this morning.

_Progress!_ Jim thought, ever the optimist

Jim noticed that an entire handful of the food was missing and added another point to the running score of things that were getting better.

Octalia hadn’t woken when the men entered and so they left the food on the table in her room with a note saying good night. Spock hadn’t seen the point, claiming such an act illogical, but had translated and written the words nonetheless.

Jim picked up the Tribble plushie that had fallen on the floor and placed in next to the sleeping girl, hoping to add a little extra comfort to her sleep.

And with that, the men left the room and returned to the mess hall to get some dinner for themselves.

The men selected their food and found a table off to the side of the room to sit at.

“I worried about her Spock,” Jim said pushing the food around on his plate.

“I, too, am feeling concern at her current behaviour. If she doesn’t increase her food intake by 97.6% then she will become dangerously ill with the next few days.”

“Thats not all that comforting Spock.”

“Facts are rarely found comforting by emotional beings, Captain.”

Jim decided to be the bigger person and let the insult slide

“Maybe Bones can give her something if she won’t eat to keep her healthy?”

“That may not be necessary Jim, I have been thinking on the matter and may have an idea.” Spock looked down at his plate, embarrassed that he had just admitted to a reduction in efficiency to his captain.

“Thats great Spock! What’s your idea?” Jims eyes had lit up. All his tricks and charms hadn’t been working so far, so he was willing to try anything.

“Since Octalia is also half Vulcan,” how could Jim forget, those warm brown eyes, rich hair, and adorably pointed ears-wait what-, “it may be beneficial to offer her a traditional Vulcan dish.”

“What dish did you have in mind?” Jim inquired mentally shaking the previous thought from his head.

“I remember a dish from when I was younger that my mother, with help from my father, would make called Lirs. She would add spices to it to enhance the flavour. I thought this might be a worthy dish?”

“That sounds amazing Spock but where would we get it from?”

“I have a collection of Vulcan spices in my quarters and have already taken the liberty of adding it to the replicator.” The slight smugness in his voice caused Kirk to shake his head, smiling.

“That sounds amazing. We’ll try that tomorrow.”

The men finished their meals over a conversation consisting of work, and mindless chatter, or as mindless as Spock could manage.

It would have been a relaxing time if not for Jims thoughts returning to Octalia every time the conversation lulled.

Jim couldn’t help but think that looking after this little girl would be the death of him. He could just see the headlines now.

Star fleet captain, survives murderous titans and multiple catastrophes, dies of a stress induce heart attack.

Bones would never let him live it down.


End file.
